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prof.dr. H.E. Vonkeman (Harald)

Honorary Professor
BMS-HIB-PHT
Capitool 15 138
h.e.vonkeman@utwente.nl
Business card

CHAIR PATIENT CENTERED HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

My aim is to advance research that facilitates a transition of care, in which healthcare supported by technology is increasingly being delivered at a distance from healthcare institutions, in a way that is both meaningful to patients and has added value to society. To achieve this, I intend to further develop a platform and network that facilitates collaboration between patients, scientists, medical specialists, primary care professionals and tech companies, that stimulates development of innovative health technologies and accelerates access to evidence-based technological innovations in healthcare.

As a physician, my main aim has been to enhance quality of life of patients living with chronic rheumatic diseases. Although this work has significantly improved long term outcomes of patients, I have found that there are often striking discrepancies in perceptions of disease between patients and caregivers. Much of my research has been on measuring and using patients’ perspectives as goals of treatment, i.e., outcomes that are relevant to patients; such as pain, fatigue, physical function and participation. These outcomes are often multidimensional and complex, difficult to measure and even harder to use in treatment strategies. In recent years this work has branched out to the development and implementation of Value Based Health Care. 

The role of Health Technology has become increasingly important in the way professionals diagnose, treat and monitor patients, in healthcare institutions and increasingly also at home, as well as for patients themselves. Projects aimed at using innovative technology to measure and improve outcomes involve telemonitoring of chronic diseases, computer adaptive tests, pain threshold measurement and therapeutic use of virtual reality.

As a board member of the Dutch Society for Rheumatology (NVR), charged with the portfolio Training & Education, and as director of the MST Rheumatology Fellowship, I endeavor to include innovative health technology in future medical intern- and fellowships of physicians and nurses.

Expertise

  • Medicine and Dentistry

    • Patient
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Inpatient
    • Therapeutic Procedure
    • Disease Activity
    • Spondylarthritis
    • Pain
    • Adverse Drug Reaction

Organisations

Ancillary activities

  • Medisch Spectrum TwenteMedical Specialist

Publications

2025

Preferences regarding technology to unobtrusively monitor symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis: A qualitative study using focus group discussions (2025)Rheumatology international, 46(1). Article 13. Wolkorte, R., Vonkeman, H. E. & Tuijthof, G. J. M.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-025-06041-9Improving the quality of life in post-COVID-19-patients: A mixed-methods investigation toward self-management support for post-COVID-19 syndrome (2025)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Schaap, G.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036568562Which ASDAS cut-off corresponds best to treatment intensification in patients with axial spondyloarthritis in daily practice? A prospective study from a clinical registry (2025)Rheumatology international, 45(11). Article 256. Nezam El-Din, R., van Tubergen, A., Vonkeman, H. E. & Webers, C.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-025-06011-1Development of an Application for Self-Monitoring to Empower Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis (MyRA) (2025)Journal of rheumatology, 52(7), 647-654. Roumen, C., Hochstenbach, L. M., den Dungen, P. v., Knops, A. M., Brokken-Peters, M. B. J., Spreeuwenberg, M. D., Vonkeman, H. E. & van Tubergen, A.https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.2024-1071Data from focus group discussions on Preferences of people with rheumatoid arthritis regarding technology for long-term symptom monitoring (2025)[Dataset Types › Dataset]. 4TU.Centre for Research Data. Wolkorte, R., Tuijthof, G. & Vonkeman, H. E.https://doi.org/10.4121/b6be7e95-3eb0-4e72-90bd-6b68b301bedbArtificial Intelligence Reinforced Social Robotics in Patient Communication for Patients with Rheumatic Diseases (2025)Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 84(Suppl. 1), 32-33. van Gorssel, D., Hegeman, M., Gerritsen, D., van 't Klooster, J. W. & Vonkeman, H. E.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ard.2025.05.060Exploring difficult-to-manage axial spondyloarthritis: Results from a Dutch clinical practice registry (2025)Rheumatology, 64(6), 3816-3825. Smits, M. L., Webers, C., Vonkeman, H. E. & van Tubergen, A.https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keaf120Mixed-method feasibility study of a positive psychology intervention for post-COVID-19 patients (2025)[Dataset Types › Dataset]. DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities. Schaap, G., Bode, C. & Vonkeman, H.https://doi.org/10.17026/ss/jtotirResponsiveness and sensitivity of PROMs to change in disease activity status in early and established rheumatoid arthritis (2025)Rheumatology, 64(3), 1060-1067. Looijen, A. E. M., van Mulligen, E., Vonkeman, H. E., van der Helm-Van Mil, A. H. M. & de Jong, P. H. P.https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keae213One-year trajectories of physical and mental health-related quality of life, fatigue and dyspnoea in COVID-19 survivors (2025)Quality of life research, 34(2), 341–351. Schaap, G., Davelaar, J. F., Klooster, P. M. t., Doggen, C. J. M., van der Palen, J., Bode, C. & Vonkeman, H. E.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-024-03812-y

Research profiles

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

Address

University of Twente

Capitool 15 (building no. 78), room 138
Capitool 15
7521 PL Enschede
Netherlands

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